Liliana Vess (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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fandomhigh2023-11-08 12:22 pm
deathsmajesty) wrote in fandomhigh2023-11-08 12:22 pm
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The History of Assassination. Wednesday, First Period [11/08]
So, funny story. In today's 'collection of words you didn't know could be a coherent sentence,' it turned out that mentioning to a moose that assassination was a subject you had extensive knowledge of made you an ideal candidate for a substitute teacher! Don't ask for more details, just know that this was the fine institution you had chosen for your various degrees.
Anyway, it wasn't a Ghanima Atreides sitting at the front of the class today, but a different regal woman with interestingly-colored eyes and an affinity for murder.
"Good morning, class," she said once everyone had arrived, giving the occasional nod upon recognizing a student, probably from looting the Walmart the other week. "I am Liliana Vess and I'll be covering History of Assassination today. I know this class traditionally focuses on the history of this plane, but my knowledge of this plane doesn't extend to assassins--" clearly an oversight "--so instead, I'm going to discuss one of the most well-known society of assassins in the history of Dominaria, the plane I was born on." She gestured behind her, where a large map was pinned to the wall.
"Jamuraa is the largest landmass on Dominaria, a supercontinent to the southeast that managed to escape both the Brother's War and the resultant Ice Age that devastated other regions in Dominaria, especially the continent of Aerona." Obligatory 'fuck you, Urza,' no love, Benalia. "While Jamuraa is home to many countries, nation states, and peoples, we'll be focusing today on the three most northwestern: the militaristic kingdom of Zhalfir, which is now phased out of existence, the religious state of Femeref, and the trading province of the Suq'Ata Empire. From about 4150 AR until 4195, these three countries were involved in a series of conflicts known as the Mirage War. Sadly, we don't have time today to trace the all the events leading up to this conflict," and Liliana truly did sound disappointed about that, "but it comes down to the actions of one man, Kaervek of the Burning Isles, a mage known for his allegiances with many malign spirits and their allies throughout Urborg and Bogardan, chiefly the Nightstalkers and the easily manipulated Panther Warriors." She pointed to the two large islands north of Zhalfir in the Kukemssa Sea.
"Due to the actions of a time mage who really should have known better, Kaervek was drawn to an island in Buleusi Bay--" she pointed to the water close to the 'Z' in Zhalfir on the map "--along with two other mages, Mangara of Corondor, a great diplomat, and Jolrael, the Empress of Beasts. None of them were able to figure out exactly what had happened on the isle, but they knew that a great temporal working had occurred, strong enough to send ripples through the time stream strong enough to capsize a metaphorical boat. The three of them agreed to settle in Jamuraa and keep an eye on the island, in case whatever had done that came back. However, Kaervek had always been a power-hungry and scheming bastard, and while his ambitions had been thwarted in the Burning Isles, he looked to Jamuraa as his newest playground. So he convinced Jolrael that Mangara brokering peace between the three nations was his first step to taking over the entire landmass. They spent several years building up armies of animals and spirits around the region. Once everything was in place, Kaervek began instigating border disputes between Zhalfir and its neighbors and infighting between the Zhalfiran nobility. These disputes continued to intensify and eventually blood was spilled and, within a matter of days after the first casualty, all three nations were once again on the brink of civil war. Mangara was hopelessly confused and agreed to meet with Kaervek and Jorael, only to be ambushed and placed inside an Amber Prison, a Zhalfiran artifact small enough to fit in the palm of your hand that holds a usually-living person." Usually. Some exceptions may apply. "Once Mangara vanished, Zhalfir was in a state of panic and Kaervek was able to put the next part of his plan into action.
"Reports increased of people mauled by wild cats, and of citizens dying in their sleep with expressions of horror the only clue to the cause of their demise. Farmers began to mysteriously vanish from their fields. Eventually representatives from all three nations met at a great council and, by comparing their experiences, surmised that their enemies were not each other, but an outside entity playing them off one another and that they would have to find a way to put aside their territorial squabbles if they were to deal with these mysterious terrors. It was then that Kaervek, with more drama than tactics, decided to make his appearance, demanding the surrender of the three nations or that the horrors would continue. Shockingly, all this did was put a face to this hypothesized common foe, uniting them together in their refusal to swear fealty to him.
"Though the battle was now three-to-two - Kaervek still had access to Jolrael's beast armies, even though she was becoming increasingly suspicious of him and his motives - Kaervek was both a powerful mage and had been readying for this for years. Zhalfirin villages were scorched from the map by dragonfire. The trail through the Uuserk marshes was closed after the deaths of a troupe of scouts. The entire Femeref Grand Assembly was slaughtered by a terrifying entity known as the Spirit of the Night. The attacks began to increase in intensity and reports reached Zhalfir of armies of the dead rising from the land. And while there were many terrifying weapons at his command - an angry or hungry dragon is no joke and the same goes for an army of zombies - perhaps his most potent was the assassin guild called the Breathstealers. Breathstealers were treated as a scary story to keep children in their beds, but they were very real. The shades of former people, Breathstealers had learned how to harvest the lives from their victims and use it to prolong their own lives. Additionally, they were known to target children, who, instead of being simply assassinated, would be turned into a Breathstealer as well, undead and with no memory of their former life, to be raised by their Breathstealer elders in one of their various clans.
"While Kaervek did send his Breathstealers against high ranking targets to ensure their deaths, he cleverly unleashed them on the population as a whole. Again, these were assassins of supposed myth, so their introduction caused fear and unrest; what other tales had people assumed were false but now might come back to haunt and hurt them? What else did Kaervek control? And the way Breathstealers murder is by slipping into a room where someone is sleeping, and, as I'm sure you've guessed, stealing their breath before their victim could move or make a sound. Imagine falling asleep in bed next to someone and waking up the next morning to see their corpse, face frozen in agony and terror, and no one else in the household being the wiser - save, of course, any children who might have been stolen from their beds without a trace. Hundreds, if not thousands of children went missing from the region in this time, some from families who were not otherwise targeted for death. And, because the Breathstealers were allowed to prey on anyone, it meant that no one was safe. Farmers. Merchants. Artisans. One or two Breathstealers were known to frequent the streets of the countries' capitals and murder homeless people over the night, leaving their bodies to be discovered like a calling card.
"Though the Breathstealers were originally from Urborg, once the Mirage War was over, they remained in Jamuraa, insinuating themselves into the Suq'Atan society. With Kaervek imprisoned in the very Amber Prison he had used against Mangara, the clans were free agents, able to pursue their own goals. Suq'Ata had been the country that sustained the least damage during the war, but the first few years after the war was still plagued by disorganization and confusion. The clans were able to split up and settle in Suq'Ata as refugees or traders from the empire's many trading partners and, once established within the borders, were able to carry on their work, albeit on a much smaller scale. They once again rose to prominence with the assassination of the level-headed legislator, Vizier Qhattib of Amiqat, which allowed the brutal warlord, Telim'Tor to succeed the Pasha. Telim'Tor's rule was bloody and violent, and under his shadow, the Breathstealers were able to thrive. They did not work for Telim'Tor the way they had Kaervek, but it was an unspoken alliance, of sorts, so long as they stayed out of one another's way. Eventually, Telim'Tor was deposed and the Breathstealers faded back into the population."
Anyway, it wasn't a Ghanima Atreides sitting at the front of the class today, but a different regal woman with interestingly-colored eyes and an affinity for murder.
"Good morning, class," she said once everyone had arrived, giving the occasional nod upon recognizing a student, probably from looting the Walmart the other week. "I am Liliana Vess and I'll be covering History of Assassination today. I know this class traditionally focuses on the history of this plane, but my knowledge of this plane doesn't extend to assassins--" clearly an oversight "--so instead, I'm going to discuss one of the most well-known society of assassins in the history of Dominaria, the plane I was born on." She gestured behind her, where a large map was pinned to the wall.
"Jamuraa is the largest landmass on Dominaria, a supercontinent to the southeast that managed to escape both the Brother's War and the resultant Ice Age that devastated other regions in Dominaria, especially the continent of Aerona." Obligatory 'fuck you, Urza,' no love, Benalia. "While Jamuraa is home to many countries, nation states, and peoples, we'll be focusing today on the three most northwestern: the militaristic kingdom of Zhalfir, which is now phased out of existence, the religious state of Femeref, and the trading province of the Suq'Ata Empire. From about 4150 AR until 4195, these three countries were involved in a series of conflicts known as the Mirage War. Sadly, we don't have time today to trace the all the events leading up to this conflict," and Liliana truly did sound disappointed about that, "but it comes down to the actions of one man, Kaervek of the Burning Isles, a mage known for his allegiances with many malign spirits and their allies throughout Urborg and Bogardan, chiefly the Nightstalkers and the easily manipulated Panther Warriors." She pointed to the two large islands north of Zhalfir in the Kukemssa Sea.
"Due to the actions of a time mage who really should have known better, Kaervek was drawn to an island in Buleusi Bay--" she pointed to the water close to the 'Z' in Zhalfir on the map "--along with two other mages, Mangara of Corondor, a great diplomat, and Jolrael, the Empress of Beasts. None of them were able to figure out exactly what had happened on the isle, but they knew that a great temporal working had occurred, strong enough to send ripples through the time stream strong enough to capsize a metaphorical boat. The three of them agreed to settle in Jamuraa and keep an eye on the island, in case whatever had done that came back. However, Kaervek had always been a power-hungry and scheming bastard, and while his ambitions had been thwarted in the Burning Isles, he looked to Jamuraa as his newest playground. So he convinced Jolrael that Mangara brokering peace between the three nations was his first step to taking over the entire landmass. They spent several years building up armies of animals and spirits around the region. Once everything was in place, Kaervek began instigating border disputes between Zhalfir and its neighbors and infighting between the Zhalfiran nobility. These disputes continued to intensify and eventually blood was spilled and, within a matter of days after the first casualty, all three nations were once again on the brink of civil war. Mangara was hopelessly confused and agreed to meet with Kaervek and Jorael, only to be ambushed and placed inside an Amber Prison, a Zhalfiran artifact small enough to fit in the palm of your hand that holds a usually-living person." Usually. Some exceptions may apply. "Once Mangara vanished, Zhalfir was in a state of panic and Kaervek was able to put the next part of his plan into action.
"Reports increased of people mauled by wild cats, and of citizens dying in their sleep with expressions of horror the only clue to the cause of their demise. Farmers began to mysteriously vanish from their fields. Eventually representatives from all three nations met at a great council and, by comparing their experiences, surmised that their enemies were not each other, but an outside entity playing them off one another and that they would have to find a way to put aside their territorial squabbles if they were to deal with these mysterious terrors. It was then that Kaervek, with more drama than tactics, decided to make his appearance, demanding the surrender of the three nations or that the horrors would continue. Shockingly, all this did was put a face to this hypothesized common foe, uniting them together in their refusal to swear fealty to him.
"Though the battle was now three-to-two - Kaervek still had access to Jolrael's beast armies, even though she was becoming increasingly suspicious of him and his motives - Kaervek was both a powerful mage and had been readying for this for years. Zhalfirin villages were scorched from the map by dragonfire. The trail through the Uuserk marshes was closed after the deaths of a troupe of scouts. The entire Femeref Grand Assembly was slaughtered by a terrifying entity known as the Spirit of the Night. The attacks began to increase in intensity and reports reached Zhalfir of armies of the dead rising from the land. And while there were many terrifying weapons at his command - an angry or hungry dragon is no joke and the same goes for an army of zombies - perhaps his most potent was the assassin guild called the Breathstealers. Breathstealers were treated as a scary story to keep children in their beds, but they were very real. The shades of former people, Breathstealers had learned how to harvest the lives from their victims and use it to prolong their own lives. Additionally, they were known to target children, who, instead of being simply assassinated, would be turned into a Breathstealer as well, undead and with no memory of their former life, to be raised by their Breathstealer elders in one of their various clans.
"While Kaervek did send his Breathstealers against high ranking targets to ensure their deaths, he cleverly unleashed them on the population as a whole. Again, these were assassins of supposed myth, so their introduction caused fear and unrest; what other tales had people assumed were false but now might come back to haunt and hurt them? What else did Kaervek control? And the way Breathstealers murder is by slipping into a room where someone is sleeping, and, as I'm sure you've guessed, stealing their breath before their victim could move or make a sound. Imagine falling asleep in bed next to someone and waking up the next morning to see their corpse, face frozen in agony and terror, and no one else in the household being the wiser - save, of course, any children who might have been stolen from their beds without a trace. Hundreds, if not thousands of children went missing from the region in this time, some from families who were not otherwise targeted for death. And, because the Breathstealers were allowed to prey on anyone, it meant that no one was safe. Farmers. Merchants. Artisans. One or two Breathstealers were known to frequent the streets of the countries' capitals and murder homeless people over the night, leaving their bodies to be discovered like a calling card.
"Though the Breathstealers were originally from Urborg, once the Mirage War was over, they remained in Jamuraa, insinuating themselves into the Suq'Atan society. With Kaervek imprisoned in the very Amber Prison he had used against Mangara, the clans were free agents, able to pursue their own goals. Suq'Ata had been the country that sustained the least damage during the war, but the first few years after the war was still plagued by disorganization and confusion. The clans were able to split up and settle in Suq'Ata as refugees or traders from the empire's many trading partners and, once established within the borders, were able to carry on their work, albeit on a much smaller scale. They once again rose to prominence with the assassination of the level-headed legislator, Vizier Qhattib of Amiqat, which allowed the brutal warlord, Telim'Tor to succeed the Pasha. Telim'Tor's rule was bloody and violent, and under his shadow, the Breathstealers were able to thrive. They did not work for Telim'Tor the way they had Kaervek, but it was an unspoken alliance, of sorts, so long as they stayed out of one another's way. Eventually, Telim'Tor was deposed and the Breathstealers faded back into the population."
Re: Discussion Question #1
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"Alternately, imply that the assassins are working as tools of the state, and anyone killed by them is clearly your enemy. That one only works if you can guarantee your own safety, though."
She smiled ruefully. "Neither of those is precisely a good counter, but they work."
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